Help For Insomnia Caused By Arthritis
The kind of symptoms you have may be an indicator of whether or not you have insomnia caused by arthritis or some other form of chronic injury. Difficulty in falling asleep is something that affects almost everyone at some point, but it may be time to seek the counsel of a doctor if you're showing symptoms of chronic insomnia. An inability to sleep soundly through the night because of tossing and turning may be another symptom. Finally, some arthritis suffers may sleep relatively soundly, but wake up too early and are unable to fall back into sleep.
Many factors can contribute to insomnia in those with arthritis and pain isn't necessarily the sole contributor. Stress can play a role, too. Worrying about an appointment with a doctor, for example, can cause some people to stay awake all night. Some of the medications used to treat arthritis can also cause difficulties sleeping. The feedback loop created by the need to take medications and their impact on quality of life can be extremely debilitating. While medications may ease pain, they sometimes rob of us sleep. Not taking the meds in hopes of sleeping may result in a level of pain that makes sound, recuperative sleep difficult or impossible.
A transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator, or tens unit, is an alternative to medication that has helped many arthritis suffers find relief for their pain. A TENS unit belongs to a class of electrical devices that promote natural pain relief by using very small doses of electrical current to mask or hide pain.
The electrical current generated by the TENS machine is delivered to the site of the pain using small electrodes attached to the skin. Pain is targeted exactly where it occurs, whereas systemic drugs and medication affect the entire body. Compact and easy to use, a TENS unit can in many cases offer quick, dependable relief of pain both at home and away from home.
While TENS is used to mask or hide pain on a superficial level, another kind of electrotherapy is thought to work on a more cellular level. The strength of our body's own electrical current is more closely matched by another device called a mens unit - MENS is an acronym for Microcurrent Electrical Neuromuscular Stimulator. The direct flow of this electrical current through the body is thought to be a major contributor to health and well-being and in theory it is this electrical balance that is disrupted by an injury.
A TENS or MENS unit may be a drug-free option for dealing with the chornic pain and insomnnia of arthritis. Medical devices like these do require a prescription, so ask your doctor if electrotherapy may be right for you.
About the Author
Chuck Pavey is the President of MedCare Service, a pain-relief company specializing in the drug-free relief of chronic pain, including the pain of arthritis. Visit his website to learn more about a tens
unit, one of several kinds of electrotherapy devices that use very small doses of electric current to promote drug-free, natural pain relief.